Regardless of geographic location it is seldom possible to have ideal climatic conditions for driving any type of motor vehicle without resorting to the use of either air conditioning devices or heaters to provide the driver and passengers with a comfortable environment while they are in the vehicle. It is also a source of annoyance to non-smoking passengers or drivers of vehicles to share the same space as those who smoke tobacco.
The use of vehicles designed to carry more than just the driver or operator and possibly a front seat passenger results in the redundant heating or cooling of the unused portion of the vehicle's interior space. There is also a protracted waiting period for the area occupied by the driver and front seat passenger or passengers to reach a comfortable temperature.
The operation of heaters or air conditioners designed for multiple passenger or freight carrying vehicles often depends upon the employment of fans or blowers running at high speed to displace large volumes of air within a relatively large area compared to the space occupied by the driver and front seat passengers with resultant noise and direct current of cold or hot air which causes discomfort.
It is possible to eventually heat or cool the entire interior of a vehicle to a point where it is reasonably comfortable throughout, however this process takes time and the more extreme the temperature is outside the vehicle the longer the time required to achieve the desired result. Once the sought after temperature is reached the fans or blowers employed to distribute heated or cooled air must continue to operate, generating both noise and annoying drafts.
The nature of vans or minivans is such that the unused space behind the front seat tends to create a drum like effect whereby sounds emitted by the rear differential gears and tires are amplified and transmitted to the front seat area. This is particularly noticeable where the space located behind the front seat is not equipped with upholstered seats, carpeting and fabric trim which tend to absorb sound.
Many models of minivans are being built with seats which fold down to become beds. These beds generally extend from behind the drivers seat rearward to the rear door or doors of the vehicle. The side windows of such vehicles are generally tinted to afford privacy and can be equipped with opaque curtains or blinds. The only area left open is that between the back of the front seat and the forward area of the vehicle. This open area interferes with the privacy of the area of the vehicle which is equipped with sleeping facilities.
Various devices have been constructed, and various methods employed in order to confine heated or cooled air to the forward area of a vehicle.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,154 granted to Woodrich Jan. 4, 1972 discloses a device for retaining heated air in the operator's compartment of a van.
Moreover U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,837 granted to Hunter Jun. 20, 1978 discloses apparatus for segregating the air space within the passenger compartment of an automobile.
Yet another device is disclosed in Canadian Patent No. 1 227 233 granted to W/S Group Inc. Sep. 22, 1987 in which a device is employed to form a partition having safety and energy conservation purposes.
These and other prior art devices present relatively complicated structures which involve a degree of difficulty for installation and further require alteration or modification of the vehicles in which they are installed presenting the possibility of unsightly damage when they are removed. If transferred to other vehicles of different design, modification of the device is required or a different design is necessary for installation.
Further, the apparatus existent in the prior art is of a generally bulky nature requiring considerable space for storage within a vehicle, for packaging, or elsewhere when not in use.
In known partitions it is necessary for incorporation in the vehicle of permanently affixed or removably affixed beams located in the roof area and side brackets attached to the sides of the vehicle and fastened by means such as magnets or bolts, epoxy or other adhesives and the dependence upon a side panel, door post or the like located in a strategic position to receive the side brackets. Once installed these partitions cannot be adjusted.
Reference Hunter U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,837 which states in part "The headliner 42 has been slit, and a plurality of ferrous plates have been fixedly secured to the automobile roof 46 as also shown in FIG. 4. The ferrous plates 44 may be secured by epoxy or the like".
Partitions are also known which are dependent upon contact with the backrest of the seat of the vehicle in which they are installed in order to effectively divide the vehicle air space. Hunter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,837 referenced above, provides for a curtain which "is disposed in a touching relationship with the backrest effectively dividing the air space therebehind". Further, such known partitions are comprised of a plurality of side brackets for removable attachment to the opposed inner wall portions of automobiles.
Known partitions do not contain the elements of universality of use in vehicles in that they require forms of permanent alteration of certain of their own component parts in order to fit specific vehicles and once altered are unusable in other vehicles. As an example Hunter, United States patent mentioned herein previously provides for an "elongated support track" for support of a transparent curtain but does not allow for telescoping of such track to allow it to fit a variety of vehicle sizes nor is it comprised of two or more pieces which would permit the entire apparatus to be folded and stored or transported easily.
The patent granted to Hunter mentioned herein provides for a partition whose use in a variety of locations within any vehicle is substantially limited by the location of door posts, windows or hardware housings required for side door opening and closing apparatus and the back of the automobile seat against which it must come in contact to be effective. Certain conditions or a combination thereof must be met for the partition to be installed and since these conditions cannot always be met the use and full function of the known partition is substantially limited. The presence of trim mouldings and door hardware further interferes with the installation and/or operation of the known partition whose installation is reliant upon a surface clear of encumbrances in order to conform to the profile of the vehicle in which it is installed. The installation and use of the known partition depends upon a solid surface both along the top of the elongated track and along the edges of the side brackets to accommodate the magnets or other means for attachment.
Many minivans are constructed which incorporate overhead consoles containing lights and possibly air ducts which often extend backward from the windshield beyond the rear of the front seat and beyond the door posts of the vehicle. Such consoles render unusable known forms of partitions requiring contact with the back of a seat or which have a plurality of side brackets for removable attachment to the opposed inner wall portions of the vehicle since such plurality of side brackets would have to be aligned with door posts or other solid means of attachment.
Other known partitions such as that described in Canadian Patent No. 1 227 233 issued to MacKenzie Sep. 9, 1987 involve components which must be held in place through use of bolts, plates and tracks to create a rigid barrier, the primary purpose of which is to act as a safety device to prevent objects from striking persons seated in the front seat of a vehicle in the event of an accident. The patent issued to MacKenzie shows a partition whose users must make alterations to their vehicles to allow for installation. The patent so issued states in part "Of course, the fleet owner would permanently install plates in the floors of all of his vehicles, and tracks in the roofs of all of his vehicles as their installation must be secure and their cost is low compared with the cost of the partition panel itself".